Discipling Life

What have you done for me lately? Yes, it is the title of a 1986 hit by Janet Jackson , but the saying goes back much further, at least to the 1950s. It reflects what some people refer to as hedonic adaptation . It means we get so used to the way things were yesterday we expect more today. It echoes the sentiment in John 6, where Jesus notes that followers are seeking him not for the spiritual significance of miracles, but because he provided food, asking implicitly what he can do for them immediately: “you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” (v. 26) Sometimes our prayer life may reflect a bit of that attitude. Sometimes we begin to treat God as a Cosmic Vending Machine . If we just put in enough prayer coins we should get what we want. After all, didn’t Jesus say, “If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it?” (John 14:14) Of course, right after that he says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (v. 15) So, ho...

Have you ever walked into a space that was supposed to feel welcoming — a waiting room, a church foyer, a neighbor’s home — and instead felt invisible? Maybe the room was full of activity, but none of it seemed meant for you. You stood at the edge, unsure whether you belonged. That feeling of being crowded out, overlooked, or quietly excluded is more common than we like to admit. And it turns out, it’s not a new problem. [See  Mark 11:12-24; Matthew 21:12-22 ] On the Monday after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus returned to the Temple — the holiest place in Jewish life, the dwelling place of God’s name and presence. What he found there should have been a house of prayer. Instead, it had become something else entirely. What Jesus Found — and What He Did Mark 11:15–17 (NRSVue) tells us: “Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the mone...